Cake issue/rant...AGAIN!

hoxtonbabe

Hi All..

This time last year I had a similar issue with a cake maker, now this time with a reputable cake shop whom I have used beforeso more so annoying

I called up on the 17th (or could have been 18th) of Jan to order my sons cake. Although I am not a professional baker, I do a bit of baking and naturally as perishable goods, once it has been cooked/baked, it naturally will start to go off...it may take a week, but the process starts.

Now, I specifically asked before placing order about when the cakes would be baked, as it would not be needed until the Sunday evening and they do not deliver on Sunday so would have to be on the Saturday. I was told, that the cake would get baked last thing late afternoon on the Friday, left to cool and then iced, etc..on the Saturday morning. Along with this i ordered some mini cupcakes and was told that these would be baked and iced on the Saturday. I said fine, I went on to explain that I really do not like my cakes hanging around getting dried especially as it was a full butter cream cake (so not royal or fondant icing which is a bit more protective at keeping cakes moist than butter cream and with butter cream cakes you cant leave in the fridge also) , lady said no it will all be done late Friday and Saturday.

Due to what i was told, I placed my delivery for 12-2pm (so they would have enough time to do what they had to do) On the 19th my bell rings at 9.30am...I initially did not answer as I was about to shower, then they somehow gained entry (i live in an apartment block) and it was the cake delivery, at this point the alarm bells went, as there was no way unless the baker got in at 4am (which is not unusual for bakers) they got this cake all done and dusted, freshly baked cupcakes and all done on the same day before 9.30am.

I immediately called up the shop and asked when was the cake made, the baker explained it was all done and ready from the Friday afternoon?!? she then goes on to say it has to be done this way as the delivery driver collects all cakes at 8am, so I ask why was I told the cupcakes would be done on Saturday and the larger cake finished off on the Saturday when this clearly was not the case, and would have appreciated being told this when I specifically asked BEFORE I placed the order? She said she understood and would call manager, she rang back explaining that she could offer 8 cupcakes, now whilst not ideal I said fine...however I was expected to collect them, which would have cost me more in transport than the cakes (I do not drive and it was snowing that weekend) plus had no one to watch the kids (one of whom had chicken pox) therefore I asked could they send it to me...NO, the baker said, this is all they can offer and if it is not satisfactory then so be it.

I explained that I would be further out of pocket for something that really wasnt my fault..but this fell on deaf ears. Eventually manager personally gets back to me, no please bear in mind I was not looking for a full refund, I was ok with replacement cupcakes even though the main cake was not too fresh also, as long as it didn't put me out anymore cash, and basically the manager was moaning about how her staff were hurt by my comments?!?! (I said they lied to get my business which they did) said something about offering me £5 (the cake and delivery was £63 total) and I should have sent the cake back if i wasnt satisfied...I complained about this cake from the 19th at no point did anyone say, please send the cake back, over a week on she is now saying I should have brought the cake back...oddly enough I only just chucked it out yesterday, but will need to fish it back out the main bin so she is welcome to that, but I am thinking consideing I sent her an email on the 19th under the heading complaint...surely she should have then been asking at that point to bring the cake back if the really had intentions to rectify, also the fact that I ordered this cake under the understanding it was being baked on xxx day and it wasn't as confirmed by the baker

Am I missing something here??

notanewuser

I make a lot of buttercream iced cakes and there's no reason at all that you can't refrigerate them.

I think the only way you're going to get what you want is to make it yourself.

scottishblondie

I think you're being a little OTT about this. I regularly bake both cupcakes and large celebration cakes iced with buttercream, and they last very well. A cake made on Friday will be perfectly fresh on the Sunday, and in fact will still taste delicious for quite a while after that. The same goes for cupcakes.

The only real issue you seem to have is that you feel they have deliberately misled you. So you need to decide what you feel is adequate compensation for that, and ask for it.

ThumbRemote

So - you ordered on Thursday 17th, they delivered on Saturday 19th, you wanted it for Sunday 20th.

You seem to be complaining that they made it around 3 hours before they said they would. Is 3 hours really that much of an issue?

Sambucus_Nigra

Oh my.

I think you need to step away from the cake stand and put the knife down.

wealdroam

Hoxtonbabe, you've posted on the wrong board.

Should be on Praise, Vents and Warnings.

closed

hoxtonbabe wrote: »

Am I missing something here??

A sense of perspective and £63, plus another £70 from last year

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3859033

vanilla sponge with buttercream and jam takes about 5 minutes effort.

Slowhand

hoxtonbabe wrote: »

Hi All..

This time last year I had a similar issue with a cake maker, now this time with a reputable cake shop whom I have used beforeso more so annoying

I called up on the 17th (or could have been 18th) of Jan to order my sons cake. Although I am not a professional baker, I do a bit of baking and naturally as perishable goods, once it has been cooked/baked, it naturally will start to go off...it may take a week, but the process starts.

Now, I specifically asked before placing order about when the cakes would be baked, as it would not be needed until the Sunday evening and they do not deliver on Sunday so would have to be on the Saturday. I was told, that the cake would get baked last thing late afternoon on the Friday, left to cool and then iced, etc..on the Saturday morning. Along with this i ordered some mini cupcakes and was told that these would be baked and iced on the Saturday. I said fine, I went on to explain that I really do not like my cakes hanging around getting dried especially as it was a full butter cream cake (so not royal or fondant icing which is a bit more protective at keeping cakes moist than butter cream and with butter cream cakes you cant leave in the fridge also) , lady said no it will all be done late Friday and Saturday.

Due to what i was told, I placed my delivery for 12-2pm (so they would have enough time to do what they had to do) On the 19th my bell rings at 9.30am...I initially did not answer as I was about to shower, then they somehow gained entry (i live in an apartment block) and it was the cake delivery, at this point the alarm bells went, as there was no way unless the baker got in at 4am (which is not unusual for bakers) they got this cake all done and dusted, freshly baked cupcakes and all done on the same day before 9.30am.

I immediately called up the shop and asked when was the cake made, the baker explained it was all done and ready from the Friday afternoon?!? she then goes on to say it has to be done this way as the delivery driver collects all cakes at 8am, so I ask why was I told the cupcakes would be done on Saturday and the larger cake finished off on the Saturday when this clearly was not the case, and would have appreciated being told this when I specifically asked BEFORE I placed the order? She said she understood and would call manager, she rang back explaining that she could offer 8 cupcakes, now whilst not ideal I said fine...however I was expected to collect them, which would have cost me more in transport than the cakes (I do not drive and it was snowing that weekend) plus had no one to watch the kids (one of whom had chicken pox) therefore I asked could they send it to me...NO, the baker said, this is all they can offer and if it is not satisfactory then so be it.

I explained that I would be further out of pocket for something that really wasnt my fault..but this fell on deaf ears. Eventually manager personally gets back to me, no please bear in mind I was not looking for a full refund, I was ok with replacement cupcakes even though the main cake was not too fresh also, as long as it didn't put me out anymore cash, and basically the manager was moaning about how her staff were hurt by my comments?!?! (I said they lied to get my business which they did) said something about offering me £5 (the cake and delivery was £63 total) and I should have sent the cake back if i wasnt satisfied...I complained about this cake from the 19th at no point did anyone say, please send the cake back, over a week on she is now saying I should have brought the cake back...oddly enough I only just chucked it out yesterday, but will need to fish it back out the main bin so she is welcome to that, but I am thinking consideing I sent her an email on the 19th under the heading complaint...surely she should have then been asking at that point to bring the cake back if the really had intentions to rectify, also the fact that I ordered this cake under the understanding it was being baked on xxx day and it wasn't as confirmed by the baker

Am I missing something here??

Yes, an apology to the woman you spoke to.

mattyprice4004

Good god, what an odd thread.

I think you need to assess what's really that important in life, a cake being a few hours older than you thought shouldn't be that important...!

Frogletina

I don't know why more people don't make their own simple cakes for birthdays. I always made my own cakes for my children's birthdays when they were at home.

My granddaughter asked me if I would make her a buttercream filled cake for her 18th birthday.

When I turned up at her house there was a cake there which was covered in chocolate fondant and had her photo on it which her parents had organised. To me it tasted really dry and the fondant really chewy and sweet.

My granddaughter loved my cake so much more. I use a Victoria sponge recipe and real butter for the icing. It is so simple to do.

arcon5

You say you chucked it out - does that mean you didn't eat it?

You focus primarily on delivery and baking times in your complaint.... Can you focus on the quality of the cake and cupcakes as any complain should be founded on that rather than a discrepancy of just a few hours in baking